October 2018

NC Countdown to College is an annual campaign to support high school seniors in completing three important college enrollment steps:

Residency | FAFSA | Applications

Residency

The State of North Carolina has a required centralized process for students to determine if they are eligible for in-state tuition and state-funded financial aid at NC public colleges and for state-funded aid programs at private colleges. All NC two-year and four-year colleges participate in RDS at www.ncresidency.org, and you can use your CFNC.org username and password for the ncresidency.org site.

FAFSA

Completing the federal Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) gives you access to the largest source of financial aid to pay for college. In addition to federal financial aid, the State of North Carolina and most NC colleges use FAFSA information to award state and institutional financial aid. You might want to complete NC’s Residency Determination Service process at the same time as your FAFSA since much of the required information is the same.

Applications

College Application Week is October 15-19, and volunteers at hundreds of NC high schools will help students submit online applications for admission. During this week, all North Carolina colleges and universities accept the College Board or ACT fee waiver in lieu of an application fee, for students who qualify (see your high school counselor for more information). Additionally, many of North Carolina’s colleges and universities go above and beyond and outright waive their application fee.

During College Application Week 2016, hundreds of volunteers helped 22,334 students submit 72,122 admission applications and 30,185 electronic high school transcripts.

NC Countdown to College is an annual event to support high school seniors in completing three important college enrollment steps: residency, FAFSA, and applications. College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC) includes the NC Community Colleges, NC Independent Colleges and Universities, University of North Carolina system, Department of Public Instruction, NCSEAA, and CFI. The Carolinas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (CACRAO) includes professionals from across all sectors of NC higher education. Many thanks go to the event steering committee, and to the hundreds of K-12 and college educators, parents, and volunteers who give their time to support local events across the state.